Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons lead the country’s hopes in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour main draw, determined to bounce back from a difficult qualifying campaign for Alas Pilipinas at the Nuvali Sands Court in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Rondina and Pons, veterans of multiple international tournaments, take on Brazil’s Mylene Thainarra and Talita Simonetti in a high-stakes 3 p.m. match on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez meet New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia McDonald at 1:20 p.m. on center court.

Also in action are Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor, who test their skills against Finland’s Anniina Parkkinin and Vilhelmiina Prihti at 2:10 p.m. The men’s side features James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla opening their campaign against Australia’s world No. 47 pair D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse at 10:10 a.m.

Alas Pilipinas looks to regroup after tough qualifiers

The Philippine squads had a rough showing in Wednesday’s qualifiers, with three pairs bowing out under cloudy skies and intermittent rain. Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario came closest to an upset before falling to Canada’s Amanda Harnett and Devin Corah, 15-21, 16-21.

“This was our first time playing together internationally, but we gave it our all and learned a lot from how our opponents adjusted,” said Gaviola. Polidario echoed the sentiment, stressing the need to use the experience for future competitions like the Southeast Asian Games.

You May Also Like: Philippines teams aim for main draw at Nuvali

Home favorites aim to rise against elite field

Brazilian coach Joao “Kioday” Luciano Simao Barbosa admitted the results were a “bad moment” for Alas Pilipinas, but remains confident the main draw will bring out their best. “It’s the same result with our men’s game earlier, but tomorrow is a new opportunity,” Barbosa said.

Despite the challenge of competing in the more competitive Challenge level, Rondina vowed the team is prepared. “We expect strong opposition, but we’ll be ready against anybody. We trained for this,” she said.